Jefferson put up averages of 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 74 games with the Mavs last season.

Per the AP:

Jefferson, who came off the bench in Dallas last season, will receive the veteran’s minimum salary, said the person who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed.

The 35-year-old Jefferson averaged 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17 minutes per game for the Mavericks. He shot a team-leading 43 percent from 3-point range. Jefferson was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2001 draft by Houston.

The Cavs are in the market for wing players like Jefferson. They remain interested in re-signing free agent J.R. Smith, who opted out of his contract this summer.

Playing for the first time in four nights, the Mavs finally stepped up their defensive game and held the Phoenix Suns to a mere 41 points in the second half. Still, the Mavs had to hold on and watch Markieff Morris miss a wide-open 3-pointer as time expired and Dallas escaped with a wild 107-104 victory over the Suns at American Airlines Center.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Mavs, who also clinched the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed in the upcoming playoffs. Dallas (47-31) now opens a three-game road trip Friday in Denver before finishing the regular season at home on Wednesday against Portland.

Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs’ long-time go-to player, nailed a huge 3-pointer which put Dallas ahead 106-102 with 22.8 seconds left. Nowitzki, who finished with 19 points, took a feed from Monta Ellis, who drove hard to the basket before dropping the pass off to the Mavs’ 17-year veteran.

The Mavericks are known to be in the hunt for wing depth and perimeter shooting after losing Vince Carter, although they landed restricted free agent Chandler Parsons when Houston decided not to match Dallas’ offer sheet, a source said.

Jefferson, a 13-year veteran, played for Utah last season, starting 78 games for the Jazz at age 33. Jefferson spent the first seven seasons of his career with the then-New Jersey Nets before stops in Milwaukee, San Antonio, Golden State and Utah.

The Mavs jumped at the chance to add a veteran on a minimum deal who shot 41 percent from 3-point range with the Jazz last season.

Free agent forward Andre Iguodala is leaving Denver for the Bay Area — Yahoo! Sports reports that Iggy and the Warriors reached an agreement on a four-year, $48 million deal. This was made possible due to Richard Jefferson, Brandon Rush and Andris Biedrins heading to the Utah Jazz. Per the Contra Costa Times: “Golden State GM Bob Myers and Iguodala’s agent, Rob Pelinka, who worked together as agents, executed complex maze to get a deal done … Golden State drops out of the Dwight Howard chase, clearing the way for long-standing frontrunner Houston to close with the free agent star. […] The Warriors cleared the cap space by trading the expiring contracts of Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush to Utah. The deal may include multiple picks as well. The deal lands the Warriors an upgrade on the perimeter. According to multiple sources, Iguodala — who Golden State has wanted for a while — wants to play for the Warriors. He’s a big fan of coach Mark Jackson and Stephen Curry, and his game fits the Warriors style of play. Part of the reason, per one source, Iguodala did not sign Sacramento’s four-year, $52 million offer was because he wanted to see if there were a chance he could play for the Warriors.”

Boosted by the positive July 1 meeting with free agent Dwight Howard — who could make his highly-anticipated decision today — the Golden State Warriors are trying to shed contracts to make room on their books to sign the superstar center. The Warriors are reportedly confident they can get rid of three contracts — despite the enormous challenges to do so — even if the Los Angeles Lakers refuse to engage in a sign-and-trade for DH. Per ESPN: “The Lakers have been adamant for weeks they would prefer to let Howard leave for nothing and bank the resultant salary-cap space in the summer of 2014, with many rival executives likewise convinced that L.A. would have real reservations about helping Howard land with a division rival. So sources say that the Warriors, in an effort to manufacture some financial flexibility to help their chances, have begun calling teams with salary-cap space to try to entice them to take expiring contracts off their books so they can clear a $20 million hole for Howard. Such a scenario would be challenging, some executives have said, but not impossible. The Warriors have three huge expiring contracts in Andrew Bogut ($14 million), Richard Jefferson ($11 million) and Andris Biedrins ($9 million). According to sources, they have tried to unload all three players this week to teams with cap room. Yet, Golden State likely would have to be willing to add assets to any potential deals to get teams interested. Sources say the Warriors have been willing to attach a future first-round pick to move one of their bad contracts since last February’s trade deadline, but potential partners tend to ask for prized youngsters such as Harrison Barnes or Klay Thompson — two of the more attractive young players in the league — when the subject of absorbing one of the Warriors’ big contracts is broached. […] Sources say the Warriors got Howard’s attention during this week thanks to their pitch, which featured owner Joe Lacob, coach Mark Jackson, general manager Bob Myers and special Warriors consultant Jerry West.”

The Spurs and Stephen Jackson are reunited. Sources tell Yahoo! that the Spurs have acquired Jax in exchange for Richard Jefferson a conditional first-round draft pick: “The San Antonio Spurs have reached an agreement to acquire Stephen Jackson from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Richard Jefferson, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.”

According to Yahoo! Sports, the doomed marriage between Richard Jefferson and the San Antonio Spurs has come to an end, via the amnesty clause: “The Spurs have decided to use the amnesty clause on contract of Richard Jefferson, league sources tell Y! Sports. He has 3 years, $30M left.”

Not too shockingly, the San Antonio front-office attempted to shoot down the latest Tony Parker trade chatter (though other execs around the L seem to believe the Spurs aren’t being entirely truthful in their denials.) From the Express-News: “Responding to an internet report about discussions the Spurs have had regarding potential trades, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford on Wednesday denied that the club actively is seeking a trade that would involve All-Star point guard Tony Parker. ‘We’re not shopping anyone,’ Buford said, via text message. ‘We’ve received calls on a lot of our guys and we’ve answered the phone.’ … An executive of a team not involved in the discussions said he had no knowledge that the Spurs were seeking deals for Parker, but confirmed the belief they were ‘gauging the interest’ of teams that called about him. A basketball executive of another team said the Spurs were unwilling to discuss trading Parker to the Raptors unless they agreed to also consider taking small forward Richard Jefferson. An NBA official familiar with the Kings’ discussions with the Spurs called a deal involving Parker ‘a long shot.'”

Though understandably disappointed by how his team finished what was a dream season prior to the Playoffs, Gregg Popovich says not to expect too many changes in San Antonio heading into next year. From the Express-News: “[Tim] Duncan is entering the final year of his contract but has the option of forgoing the roughly $21.2 million he is owed to sign a longer-term deal at a lower starting price, as Richard Jefferson did last summer. That could give the Spurs a bit of financial wiggle room to chase free agents. ‘There will be some changes, but we never get drastic in that sense,’ Popovich said. ‘Somebody asked me yesterday, ‘We lost, do we blow it up’?? That’s the most preposterous attitude you can have.’ Whatever the offseason holds, winning 60 games again next season will be a tall order, and — in a Western Conference in which the eighth seed can beat the first — simply making the playoffs will be a chore. The apocalypse scenario for Spurs fans remains a lockout that erases the entire final year of Duncan’s deal, after which he could walk away for good. Duncan was in no mood to consider that possibility after Game 6. ‘I just lost a game,’ Duncan said. ‘I’m not even worried about any of that stuff.’ Between now and the tenuous start of the 2011-12 campaign, there will be time to think about roster overhauls, and time to debate the future and, maybe, to ponder the end of an era. Too much time, if you ask the Spurs.”

The NBA All Star ballot was released recently, and a few key names were missing. Who really deserved to be on it? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Just about everyone (including yours truly) slammed the Spurs‘ front-office when they re-signed the forward last season, but they’re proving once again that doubting them only makes you look silly. From the Express-News: “A crowd of reporters surged toward his locker at Phoenix’s US Airways Center late Wednesday night, and Richard Jefferson began to laugh. He poked his head out from the scrum, briefly locking eyes with Manu Ginobili in the stall next door. Ginobili laughed, too. This has been a running joke between the two since the preseason. Every time Jefferson puts together a game somewhere north of decent, scribes flock to his locker as if he’s got the cure for hay fever. ‘Every time I hit a couple of threes, people want to ask about all the work I did over the summer,’ Jefferson said. It’s still early, Jefferson admits. But if he can extend his personal reclamation project over six more months, the once-maligned Spurs small forward can brace for the same line of questioning at every NBA stop. Given a second chance to make a first impression, and boosted by an offseason regimen rapidly becoming the stuff of lore, Jefferson suddenly appears reborn at age 30. Four games into his second San Antonio season, Jefferson leads the Spurs in scoring at 20 points per game, and is shooting a sizzling 65.9 percent, including 8 of 15 on 3-pointers.”

Despite most observers’ assumptions that the Spurs are no longer in the title hunt, Pop thinks otherwise. Emphatically. From the Express-News: “So why is Gregg Popovich smiling? And why, in the lead-up to training camp, is he saying things like this: ‘We think we have the potential to be fantastic — and ‘fantastic’ means have an opportunity to win a championship.’ Splitter, for one, will help as near 7-footers with basketball sense often will. Anderson is considered a borderline lottery talent who dropped to the Spurs at No. 20. Maybe Neal can approximate what the artist formerly known as Big Shot Roger Mason accomplished in 2008-09. For further reason to hope, however, the Spurs need only look within. The Spurs can be better, if a handful of returning players are. Somewhere near the top of that list — Jefferson. Yes, Jefferson disappointed last season after arriving in a trade from Milwaukee. He averaged 12.3 points — most for a Spurs’ small forward in more than a decade — but was wildly inconsistent on both ends of the floor. The Spurs are doubling down on a bounce-back from Jefferson this season. They are putting a lot of eggs in the RJ basket. ‘His dedication and development this summer are going to be one of the most important things for our success,’ Popovich said Thursday.”

Remember when everyone laughed at RJ for opting out of a deal that would’ve netted him $15 mil next season? Yeah, about that … NBA.com has the scoop: “Sources tells TNT’s David Aldridge that forward Richard Jefferson’s new contract with the San Antonio Spurs, officially announced on Wednesday, is for four years and $38.8 million, with a player option for the final season at a little more than $11 million. Jefferson had opted out of the final year of his contract with the Spurs, which would have paid him $15 million next season, in order to test free agency. But most league officials believed the 30-year-old Jefferson would re-sign with the Spurs, who acquired him from Milwaukee last summer in a deal with the Bucks for Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas. Jefferson struggled for much of last season with the Spurs as he learned Gregg Popovich’s system, averaging just 12.3 points, his lowest average since his rookie season. But veteran players usually take at least a year or two to fully pick up the Spurs’ complex offensive and defensive systems, and tend to improve greatly in their second or third season. The Spurs anticipate that Jefferson, a career 47 percent shooter, will return to his normal form next season.”

Jefferson’s expected to sign a multi-year deal, giving him long-term security despite the likelihood of another lackluster season. From the San Antonio Express-News: “Free agent forward Richard Jefferson is en route to San Antonio this afternoon, where he is set to sign a long-term contract with the Spurs on Wednesday. Details of the new deal are not yet available, but his salary next season will be well below the $15.2 million he would have been guaranteed had he not opted out of the final season of his contract with the Spurs on June 30.”

Yes, this is an insane decision by RJ. But it may not be completely insane, so sayeth the Express-News: “Spurs fans who celebrated the news that Richard Jefferson opted out of the final year of his contract — and questioned his sanity for passing on the $15 million he is guaranteed to make next season — were as misguided as they assumed Jefferson to be. Unless it’s payday and you’re Peter Holt, there is no reason to feel good about the prospect of having Jefferson disappear from the Spurs roster, no matter how underwhelming his first season in silver and black may have been. The Spurs chairman won’t have to sign any more of those bloated paychecks with Jefferson’s name, but he is a basketball man at heart, so he knows this is true: From a basketball standpoint, losing Jefferson does not help his team. Should Jefferson sign with another team and leave the Spurs high and dry, the team’s payroll still will be at, or near, the league’s salary cap figure … Maybe what Jefferson really wants is a fresh start with the Spurs, one that won’t be burdened by the expectations that go with being paid more than every teammate not named Duncan. Maybe the Spurs will announce a new deal for Jefferson in another week that will pay him about $32 million over four seasons. Then Spurs fans, including Holt, can celebrate, loud and long.”

We’ve been aware for the past few seasons that the clock is ticking on the aging former champs down in San Antonio. Timmy crossed the 1,000 game mark, Ginobili was debilitated by an assortment of ankle injuries for nearly two seasons, Parker caught a bout of plantar fasciitis…all the while the West growing deeper and stronger, new contenders emerging, old foes rejuvenated by some timely salary dump bailouts. Apologies in advance for using such a tired comparison, but the Spurs came to see this season as their Alamo, perhaps the last chance for 21 and Coach Pop to climb the mountain one last time (before Pop retires to his wine vineyards and Duncan to playing Dungeons and Dragons?).

Ownership scorned the tax hit they would take and acquired Richard Jefferson, hoping his relatively young legs might infuse the roster with an energy and athleticism that has eluded the franchise in recent years. They continued to draft with prescience, adding George Hill and DeJuan Blair to their exemplary record of success (Tiago Splitter’s presence on the front-line could really help, though). Duncan came back leaner than we’d seen him in years, the fresh bounce to his step showing us that the guy who hoisted the Larry O’Brien after knocking out the upstart Knicks in ’99 wasn’t quite ready to fade into the sunset. For anyone short of the Lakers, surviving the West was going to be a major accomplishment, but San Antonio was giving themselves a shot.

Something was missing when they came out of the gate in November, though. The team didn’t have that same offensive rhythm nor did they have the same defensive commitment. Jefferson really struggled to redefine himself within Pop’s system, devolving more or less into an ineffective jump shooter instead of the attacking, aggressive transition threat he had always been. Ginobili either wasn’t healthy or was simply passed the days of being one of the best 2s in the world. Parker looked just a step slower because of all his foot issues, and for a player who has predicated his entire game on speed for the most part, that step, or half-step, removed him from elite guard status. Just when he started to look like his old self (you know, the only little dude in the league who gets most his points off lay-ups), he hurt the wrist and will probably be out until the last week of the regular season.

Even the vaunted Rodeo away trip failed to unite the team as it is predestined to do in Spurs mythology. It sure seemed (and still does seem to many people) like the gig was up. But when I’ve watched the Spurs in recent weeks, I’ve seen a team that just might come together at the perfect time. Manu is back, with his rediscovered quickness, confidence, and whirling-dervish attacks of the basket that make him one of the truly unique players in the League. All the old favorites are surfacing again: the step-back 3s (with a slow release that still never gets blocked), the lefty hesitation dives to the bucket with the accompanying running finish, the slick behind-the-back dribble against pressure, and the consistently exemplary court vision and play-making ability. When he’s genuinely healthy, Ginobili is one of the best guards in the League, and someone I would always trust with the ball at the end of the game (despite some rough possessions last night against Atlanta).

Ginobili’s play has also revitalized Richard Jefferson to a certain extent. For the majority of the season, the two did not share the court together all that often. They have in recent weeks, and in Ginobili, Jefferson has found another player with a feel for spacing, angles and movement along the lines of his previous partnership with J. Kidd. Jefferson even spoke to Coach Popovich about his desire to play alongside Ginobili even more often. RJ’s renewed swag and effectiveness will be necessary if the Spurs are to make any noise come April 17. He’s an imperfect fit at the 3 for Pop’s system, but Jefferson’s ability to get cheap buckets in transition and at the line will help a San Antonio team that can get a bit stale at times in the half-court.

Duncan has played some of the best basketball of his post-foot ailments career. He still scores at the bucket and draws contact for freebies with the best of ‘em despite his ever-decreasing hops. He anchors the defense, plays terrifically against the pick-and-roll, and rebounds/clears his man out as the consummate professional he is. Already widely acknowledged as the greatest 4-man in history, this latest incarnation of Tim Duncan with diminished physical gifts only augments his standing as the G.O.A.T. Few bigs have adapted to their twilight years as well as this Wake Forest product.

DeJuan Blair has been great all season, taking the game by the horns as he always has. He knows his way around the bucket and has no problem tossing bodies around even at the NBA level. McDyess and Matt Bonner are the atypical role-playing veterans of the Gregg Popovich era, and George Hill is also much improved, particularly in the consistency with which he shoots the ball from the mid-range and out. Still, Hill is not Tony Parker, especially at winning time. Hill’s athleticism and activity on both ends are a huge boost to San Antonio, but when the 4th quarter comes, he tends to slide into the background as the team relies almost entirely on Ginobili and Duncan for all their offense. That is all fine and well, and many-a-team would love to have those two options in the waning moments (Coach Pop probably requires that Hill give the ball up to Ginobili as well). But Hill’s deferential play allows defenses to simplify their efforts in a way they cannot when Parker is out there (then, they have to be ready for Duncan post iso, Ginobili-Duncan high pick and roll with shooters surrounding, Parker-Duncan high-pick and roll with shooters surrounding). The man from IUPUI has played brilliantly this season, and is incredibly valuable for the contributions he can make during the meat of the game. For the Spurs to consistently win the last few minutes, though, they need all three of their former champions out on the court together.

Word is TP shot pain-free Sunday and is hoping to expedite his return to the ball-club. If the Frenchman is back in uniform in time for the Spurs to gel once again as is the Popovich way, even more intrigue will mark the upcoming Playoffs (especially if SA can leapfrog their way up through the log-jammed standings and avoid the Nuggets match-up). I don’t know if they can do it, but for this team I used to hate for their boring, methodical ways, I’ve really grown to appreciate and enjoy the way they play the game. I hope we can see them at something close to full strength one more time.

RJ was brought in to inject some life into the Spurs and provide a scoring punch. Thus far, he has failed on both fronts, and the team sits at a somewhat unbelievable .500: “Eighteen games into his first season in San Antonio, Jefferson — a scoring star whose offseason arrival heralded the Spurs’ seriousness about challenging the Lakers in the West — is still struggling to find his niche in a new town. He is averaging 12.8 points per game, little more than Michael Finley provided the Spurs at small forward last season. In his past five games, Jefferson has reached 10 points just once. ‘It’s not about what my numbers should be,’ said Jefferson, who owns a career scoring average of 17.6 points. ‘I’ve been on teams where I’ve averaged 20 points and not made the playoffs. For me to take a step back and find my groove on a team that’s getting wins, I’d much rather have that.’ Right now, Jefferson is getting the worst of both worlds. The Spurs have lost three in a row, spiraling to 9-9 in advance of tonight’s game against Sacramento. And Jefferson is still in search of his elusive groove.”

I could copy and paste that 8000 times in this post because that’s about all my mind is thinking right now. I’m so happy. Thrilled. Over the moon. We can’t script reality because sometimes it’s too perfect. Envisioning an Iverson back to Philly “second chance” seemed foolish only a few months ago. Hell, even a few weeks ago.

But there he is. Smiling. Holding up what is perhaps the loveliest jersey I’ve ever seen. I loved the Sixers new uniforms this season. With a #3 and an IVERSON on the back, I loved them even more. This feels right. Even if it feels a little overwhelming and strange and almost scary. Scary because, if it doesn’t work in Philly, we know it isn’t going to work anywhere else. Strange because Iverson will go from being “retired” to starting (at least, I hope for his sake). Overwhelming because we will get to hear those Sixers fans scream their hearts out for Iverson once again.

I want this to work out for him more than anything I can recall in recent memory. It just feels right. Deserved He gave that franchise his heart for so many years. After putting them on his back, they had a chance to give him a hand, a shot and a second chance. And they did.

The tears in his eyes, crackle in his always raspy voice, nervous smile as he tried to get a hold of his emotions, that is why Allen Iverson means what he does to me. He is real, raw, pure emotion. He is true to what he feels inside. It’s the only way he knows how to be. It’s the only way I ever want to be.

To the Philadelphia 76ers franchise, thank you.

Thank you for taking a chance on someone that you believe in. I believe in him, too.

Okay. I’ve got so much more to say/think/express about Iverson, but I can’t get my thoughts straight right now. Going from trying to accept that he was gone to having him back in Philadelphia has been a whirlwind. I’m sure you can relate.

Beyond that, DeJuan Blair had me singing #rookielove all evening. 18 points on 9-11 field goals, 11 rebounds (five offensive) in 21 minutes of play off of the bench. He was spectacular. He was everywhere. Hopping all over the place, making moves against KG, going up against Perkins battling for boards. He was aggressive, focused and absolutely jacked up at the end of the game as he led the Spurs back. San Antonio ended up losing the game to the Celtics, 90-83, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort on Blair’s part.

The Spurs were out of sync all night. Sloppy from the jump. They lost despite outrebounding Boston 55-32, including 20-2 on the offensive glass. How does that happen? By shooting just 7-for-17 from the free throw line and by turning the ball over 19 times.

Rajon Rondo is a hell of a point guard. Can people stop hating on him? Or, let me clarify that: Can people stop hating on his game? You don’t have to like him, but saying he sucks only makes you look ignorant. He’s a baller. Also, KG getting up to grab lob passes made me happy last night.

The Denver/Miami game was almost over before it started with the Nuggets leading by 16 at the half and rolling to the 114-96 win from there. Facing the Lakers tonight, things don’t get any easier for this Heat team on this West Coast swing. Did you all see the new hairstyle JR Smith is rocking? I personally enjoyed his six assists off of the bench to go with 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Dwyane Wade had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Heat in the loss.

The Houston/Golden State game ended up being a close one down the stretch. After trailing by 10 in the fourth, the Rockets continued to play their team game and came roaring back while Monta Ellis and the Warriors had some heartbreaking turnovers late as Houston escaped with the 111-109 victory. With the game going back and forth, Aaron Brooks nailed two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining and then Ellis was called for a travel on the in bounds catch and the Warriors didn’t get a chance to win it.

How’s this for a wacky line? Monta Ellis scored 24 points to go with six rebounds, eight assists, nine turnovers. He shot just 9-for-27 from the floor and had seven blocks against him. He played 47:28 minutes after missing the morning shootaround because he felt under the weather. Brooks led the way for Houston with 25 points, none bigger than his final two free throws.

If it was good enough for 50 Cent and Nate Dogg alike, I’m pretty sure that it’s exceptionally sufficient for SLAM. Regardless of music, 21 Questions with San Dova is taking the task of asking those nebulous questions that seem to revolve around the force of gravity we know to be the NBA. Check for the preguntas at the top of every month or so.

1. Is Agent Zero ever going to honestly return, or is this season just the prerequisite one-year waiting period following his microfracture surgery?

2. Why is no one talking about Eric Maynor?

3. Does anyone really believe in the Toronto Raptors in ’09-10? Does anyone really believe in Chris Bosh?

4. Now that Richard Jefferson is finally happy on a team now, will we see the Arizona R.J. make a return to form?

5. Why is Portland throwing Andre Miller on the bus, and giving Steve Blake all the brakes? Since when is he better than Andre?

6. And why isn’t Brandon Roy just the permanent point guard yet? Doesn’t anyone realize that the Trail Blazers are best this way?

7. Shouldn’t Phoenix just go all out and spend for this year (especially the team’s resurgence)?

8. If Allen Iverson does return to the City of Brotherly Love, will Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams accept him? Will the big men be better? Is Philly truly better off?

9. And why doesn’t Philadelphia just make Elton Brand the center and either Jason Smith or Marreese Speights the four-man to integrate Brand better and keep some size on the low block?

10. Wasn’t trading Rafer Alston foolish for the Orlando Magic?

11. Are the New York Knicks crazy for passing up AI, and are the young guns in New York City even good or important enough to merit not signing Iverson?

12. Isn’t Byron Scott the lucky man in the New Orleans abyss?

13. After going 0-17 through the first month of the season, will LeBron even want to be bothered with the New Jersey Nets, despite all the future amenities?

14. Brandon Jennings: How many fools of teams has he made since his NBA breakout show?

15. Why don’t the Memphis Grizzlies just be “normal” and make a cohesive team? Isn’t winning a lot to ask of a team filled with B-grade stat fillers, ground-bound “rising” stars and the other players who know better?

16. Dahntay Jones is a scoring machine with the Indiana Pacers, but doesn’t anyone remember his high-scoring Rutgers days?

17. Is Don Nelson is a Bizarroworld genius? (With the aims of proving that he can make a good team perform at its absolute poorest?)

18. Ben Wallace sure does look like he was worth the contract he got from the Chicago Bulls these days, doesn’t he?

19. What is Coach Mike Brown’s problem? Why doesn’t he go uptempo? It’s not like the Cavs will forget how to play the halfcourt game!

20. With Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas, aren’t the Chicago Bulls shooting more for a 2nd-round KO than an NBA championship?

21. Who really cares about the Boston Celtics anymore?

***

In the world of sneakers, the Nike Zoom Kobe V has become one amidst the flurry of hot shoes coming out for the holidays, and as the new jacks are bound for release, I’ve been been able to attain another Sneak Peak Premiere exclusive with an upcoming colorway, with may or may not be released in the United States.

Decked out what is being called “photo blue” with black and white trim, the Zoom Kobe V is looking as bold as ever, and further reminding the basketball heads out there of No. 8 long-held dream of starring in blue and white for the Duke Blue Devils. Replacing the oft-called soft LunarLite foam is Zoom Air in both the rearfoot and forefoot for more support, bounce and that zoomy lightness that is often associated with that particular Air technology. The Flywire panel returns in a seamless, no-sew construction that will adapt to your foot pattern and mold a custom shape as the shoe is worn and heat emitted from your feet. The outsole is full rubber with a unique pattern that resembles both a heartbeat monitor and seismic readings, so I’m guessing it’s all about Kobe still having a pulse on the floor and his feet reading his reactions in on-court play.

My sources tell me that these are bound to retail early in 2010 for $240, which would make these a premium release, but as always, dates and prices are bound to change.

(Shoutout to Andrew for the much-appreciated intel!)

Sandy Dover is a novelist/writer & artist, fitness enthusiast, as well as an unrepentant Prince fan (for real). You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as at Associated Content and Twitter.

Jefferson’s thumb injury could force him to miss the start of training camp: “The injury is not considered serious, and the Spurs are expecting Jefferson’s absence to be measured in weeks, not months. Still, it remains unclear whether he will be a full participant when the Spurs open camp Sept. 29. X-rays taken of Jefferson’s thumb showed no bone or ligament damage. He is set to be re-evaluated next week, at which point the team will establish a firmer timetable for Jefferson to return to basketball activities.”

This is just cruel, RJ: “Former New Jersey Net star Richard Jefferson bailed on his stunning fiancée — pulling the plug on his posh Manhattan wedding at the 11th hour without even alerting some of the guests. The cold-footed forward’s decision to ditch onetime Net dancer Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols was so last-minute that some of his oblivious friends had already shown up last Saturday at the swank Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle for the $2 million wedding that never happened. Jefferson — who was traded in June to the San Antonio Spurs — dumped Nichols just before the weekend, according to sources.”

Almost every fan of the Association has their most and least favorite team. The San Antonio Spurs would rank up there as an organization I’ve never been fond of. It probably started when David Robinson won the MVP over Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995 before getting beaten down like Apollo Creed in Rocky IV by The Dream. That was pretty much the end of the Rockets truly getting the best of S.A.

Having attended college about 25 minutes from San Antonio when they won their most recent title against the Cleveland Cavaliers, I was subjected to countless taunts about how great the team was. You want to see bias? Try showing a clip of Bruce Bowen kicking Ray Allen in his back to a Spurs fan. “It was an F’ing reflex! Bowen is anything but dirty,” I’ve heard before. Right, and Mark Cuban is a wallflower.

This past Playoff series for the Spurs against the Dallas Mavericks was a joke. If you’ve played rec or organized ball before, you’ve probably had a situation where you felt like you were running two-on-five. The Spurs did. Other than Tim Dunacn and Tony Parker, there was no offensive production. If Drew Gooden is your last hope, damn, I feel sorry for you. We aren’t in Kansas anymore. The odd thing is that I didn’t take as much satisfaction as I thought I would at seeing the dying light of the Spurs’ dynasty. It was inevitable. Teams get old and other teams rise up to fill their place.

I should have known better. San Antonio doesn’t roll that way. I had forgotten that the Spurs don’t rebuild, they reload.

On Tuesday, the Spurs made one of the most lopsided trades on paper in recent memory when they nabbed swingman Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas.

Oberto was then sent to Detroit for Amir Johnson, also known as the “Who the Hell cares” portion of the trade. I’m halfway kidding. Johnson could be a good option in the event Milwaukee loses Villanueva, a distinct possibility. It’s a matter of him turning his raw talent into something consistent.

The immediate winner of the trade has to be San Antonio, who now have a perimeter threat that can force teams to respect their offense, something that had disappeared on them like men at a club when the lights come up on Lady Gaga. Jefferson can play two positions and should fit right in. He is a nice kick-out complement to Tony Parker’s slashing style at the 1. By gaining the scoring of Jefferson, they’ve opened the window of opportunity for their Texas trio by a few more seasons. That’s all you can ask for if you’re a San Antonio fan.

The $25,000 question for most critics of the Spurs is whether or not they can keep Timmy, Parker and Manu Ginobili healthy. If this fantastic four can swat the injury bug, look out. The L.A. Lakers already have a few Western Conference opposers to their throne in Denver and Houston. The Jefferson deal may put San Antonio at the head of that list. Jefferson could help make this happen by carrying some of the scoring load that weighed Duncan and Parker down at the end of the season.

There were rumors that Manu Ginobili was being shopped around, which would have been disastrous to the Spurs in terms of chemistry and cohesiveness. We saw how much they missed him in the Playoffs. In this situation they didn’t really lose much by dropping Bowen, Thomas and Oberto. All were role players at this point. Yes, Bowen and Thomas were key figures for San Antonio on their vanilla flavored ride to the top, but this is a business. Bowen is lucky to be playing ball right now at all. He has said as much.

Other issues with San Antonio now come in the form of going over the luxury tax and having very little frontcourt help. This could change if the Spurs package draft picks on Thursday or go for a veteran this summer. After what happened today, and considering San Antonio is one of the most shrewd organizations on Draft Day (Let’s not forget they picked Parker at No. 28 in the first round and Manu at No. 57), I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull off a few more moves in the near future. That may include re-signing Bowen or Oberto to a lesser deal.

Milwaukee had no choice but to make a trade in order to have a chance to sign Charlie Villanueva and/or Ramon Sessions, both restricted free agents. We don’t have word yet if Villanueva has Tweeted “Ka-ching!” yet but we will look into it. The trade also allows them to stay under the luxury tax threshold by $7.5 million, which is huge. They don’t need Bowen or Thomas and can save more cash by dropping them like a pair of Adidas Kobe 2’s at Goodwill.

The deal was inevitable for the Bucks, who loaded their team with two many heavy contracts, so in a sense the best case scenario is to at least keep Big Villy Styles and Sessions. The Bucks seem likely to pick a point guard at the No. 10 spot in the Draft as insurance against Sessions’ departure.

I’d go into detail about what Fabricio Oberto could do for the Pistons, but I can’t do it without laughing. This move was about saving cap space and we all know it. The irony is that they may go after Villanueva as they continue to clear up cap room. Carlos Boozer has been the more talked about forward for Detroit but don’t overlook Detroit making a move for the Bucks power forward. If that happens and Villanueva accepts, the Bucks become the clear loser in this trade. And who is to say that Villanueva really wants to stay on a team that seems to take one step forward and two back? Honestly, would you want to play for Milwaukee? Anybody? Bueller. Bueller.

There are still plenty of questions to be answered for all three teams involved, but it looks like every team got what they wanted, something we can’t say in the classic Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown in principle trade. Wouldn’t Memphis have been better off asking for Kurt Rambis to come out of retirement instead of taking Kwame? At least they’d get a kick out of the high shorts and goggles. Still, I’d lay money down that Rambis would beat Kwame’s ass on the court to this day. Somebody print up a Rambis Lives shirt immediately.

Does the acquisition of Jefferson guarantee the Spurs are the clear cut threat to the Lakers’ chance of repeating? Hell no. Nothing is guaranteed when dealing with aging players like Timmy and Manu. Once injuries kick in, they seem to linger, which oddly enough is exactly what the Spurs are doing now. L.A. is still the best in the West but they now have to look in their rearview mirror more often in 2009. If all goes according to plan in S.A., the Spurs will be kicking up dust for a few more years.

Someone here in the office this morning asked me who the Knicks are going to be drafting on Thursday. I said, “I have no idea,” and kept walking. Does anybody really know what’s going to happen Thursday night? Anyone? Anyone?

I certainly don’t. But I’m excited to find out. Maybe this isn’t the deepest Draft, but it does seem like it’s shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable drafts in a while.

(One thing: NBADraft.net has had the Hawks taking Jeff Teague at 19 for weeks now, though from what I understand, unless I’m being snookered, that’s not happening. I don’t know who the Hawks are going to Draft, but I don’t think it’s going to be Teague.)

In the meantime, the one thing I do notice is more and more NBA teams trying to achieve that elusive “cost certainty,” meaning they want to know exactly how much they’re going to have to pay their players, not just this year but several years down the road.

Look at the Boston/Detroit trade rumors. From a basketball point of view it makes zero sense for the Celts, only marginally more for Detroit. Boston would really trade their crucial point guard and the shooting guard who helped carry them in the Playoffs for a bunch of guys from Detroit? And the Pistons, who already traded their leader last season, would let the rest of the guys go in exchange for a year from Ray Allen and two from Rondo? Sure!

Well, apparently Boston would at least entertain this deal. Why? Because Rondo’s a restricted free agent next summer and a free free agent the summer after that. And Boston, despite winning a title and having a rabid fanbase that is willing to buy tickets, for whatever reason hasn’t been a willing spender on players. Look at last season when they tried to replace James Posey with Mikki Moore.This seems like a clear-cut case of the Celtics trying to make money by not spending it. And when you start making moves based on cash rather than hoops, that’s when you get into trouble.

If you’re looking for more cost certainty in action, look no further than Milwaukee today, where the Bucks just traded a young small forward for three guys with an average age of 36.3 years old. They wouldn’t do that for basketball reasons, right? Regardless of Jefferson’s contract vs. his production, that deal makes no basketball sense.

But Oberto, Bowen and Krazy Kurt Thomas make a combined $11.3 million next season and then all three are free agents. So the Bucks can move Jefferson and the two years left on his deal, tell their fans they’re looking forward to the summer of 2010 when they’ll have more flexibility, and then use all that money to not sign LeBron or Wade or whoever.

Basically, the Bucks thought Richard Jefferson had more value to them as a trading chip then as a basketball player. Now the Bucks have a little more cost certainty. And they’ve also added a year or two onto their rebuilding.

• Thought it was worth noting a post from Mark Cuban, who recently wrote on his blog about an idea he had to punish blogs or websites who print completely unsubstantiated rumors:

How to stop it? ESPN.com puts up a page of blacklisted blogs and websites who’s posts they wont comment on or report on in any way. It will create a short term surge of traffic for those sites, but then they will go away as the proprietors of the sites realize that being discredited is not a good thing.

I’m with you a hundred, Mark. And the first website I’d put on that list? ESPN.com.

As Cuban wrote…

“If some random blogger reports that “he has heard that a trade of Joe for John is being discussed”, then the traditional media, as they have told me many times “is requested by their editor to run it down and see if its real”.

Hey, I spent two days on the phone discovering that the Josh Smith thing wasn’t real. These darn bloggers are taking up all my time!

• Thanks to everyone who’s been saying “The Links are back,” etc., the last few weeks. I’ve been trying hard to squeeze in time here and there to write The Links, which mostly means I’ve been jotting down thoughts and notes and bookmarking sites whenever I come across them, then trying to carve out a couple of hours here and there to aggregate. It’s a little easier to find time to write now that the season is over, and this week is always a fun week here in NYC, with all the different Draft events/parties, as well as the Draft itself.

So I’ll have a couple of posts this week, including our annual Draft Hat giveaway. And then Thursday night I’ll be your host for SLAMonline’s NBA Draft liveblog, so please stop by and join us for that.

• Great news from Philly, where the Sixers officially announced they were returning to their old logo. It’s kind of amazing a team could go through so many different logos over the last decade and not be able to make anything better than what they had ten years ago.

• I found out the other day that my cholesterol was a little high — like double what it’s supposed to be. So my doctor suggested I cut back on certain things, like all the things that are fun in life. Hey, I get it, I’m getting old, etc.

But speaking of high cholesterol, guess who wants to make an NBA comeback: Oliver Miller!!!!!!

The Humongous O now says he’s just The Really Big O, and he’s down under 350 and ready to go. This would be awesome. Come on Toronto, let’s bring him back!

• Finally, via Gizmodo, here’s an amazing video of a Japanese satellite crashing into the moon. Watch it in HD on full-screen mode. Remarkable…

The Spurs never cease to be in the picture. They will never become irrelevant. They won’t allow it. Why?

Well, leave it to Chad Ford to break the most breaking news of the offseason as dramatically as possible via his live web chat:

The trade is Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas … more coming in just a second. Deal is agreed to in principle with a trade call coming later today.

[…]

Bowen, Oberto and Thomas are all in the last year of their contracts. It saves them roughly $3 million this year and $15 million next year. And it gives them some flexibility to sign at least one of their restricted free agents — either Charlie Villanueva or Ramon Sessions.

You heard it: Bruce Bowen is no longer a Spur. We knew it would happen someday, possibly, but nonetheless it’s still pretty unthinkable. At this point in his career the Spurs might’ve just awarded him an honorary spot at the end of the bench until Kobe retires, just to annoy the Mamba. But this… you know this is a business now. The Spurs throw away some refuse and dig up a still-spry, high-character wing player. What a piece for the best organization in sports!

People forget Bowen’s early days in Miami, Philly and Boston since Bowen did most of his damage in the white and black, but now he’s officially been given the Damon Jones treatment. This is a sad and happy day for Spurs fans.